What is a Mommy Makeover all about?  Does it always include a breast augmentation and a tummy tuck?  Do Moms have to be SURE they are not going to have any other children before planning surgery?  There are many common questions related to Mommy Makeovers, and Dr. Horton strives to answer them!

As a Mom herself, Dr. Horton understands personally how nursing babies creates deflation (loss of fullness) of the BREASTS, and how many Moms mourn the fullness they had before pregnancy or often during breast feeding.

Often, Moms “need a lift” (literally!) of their breasts after having kids.  A Mommy Makeover can often include a breast augmentation, a breast lift or occasionally a breast reduction with a lift.  While a good bra can achieve nice cleavage and a sexy look in clothes, Dr. Horton can achieve that look using her Mommy Makeover techniques, while maintaining a NATURAL LOOK.

Most women seeking breast augmentation are athletic, lean and muscular, relatively thin, and physcially active.  They don’t want to look fake, “done” or anyone else to notice they’ve had a breast augmentation.  How does Dr. Horton achieve natural results?  Read her blog post on achieving natural, proportional results with breast implants.

As for a natural look, many of Dr. Horton’s patients are not only Moms but they also work outside the home in the Bay Area, and they have a natural, athletic look.  They want a proportional result that helps them fill out their bra, and to achieve the look of their padded or structured underwire bra, only without all the help from Victoria’s Secret or Nordstrom!

This is where Dr. Horton’s expertise comes in:  While some women do want a very round, augmented look (which Dr. Horton can certainly create), many women in the Bay Area want to maintain an athletic, natural look that will enable them to continue in their regular activities without the average person noticing or their breasts being the focus of attention all the time.  Dr. Horton’s before and after images on her website show natural breast augmentation results – check them out!

Other women with enough breast volume but sagging or droop of the breasts are a candidate for a breast lift (mastopexy) or a breast reduction, which often adds liposuction to the ‘axillary rolls’ (back fat / bra roll area).  A breast lift or reduction can be done at any time, and usually will preserve the ability to breast feed, should another pregnancy be planned or happen spontaneously in the future!  However, if another child is in the works, Dr. Horton recommends WAITING to have breast surgery until after breast feeding is complete – usually 2-4 months after stopping nursing.

The other main area of a Mommy Makeover is the BODY – tummy, hips, thighs, and or sides of the torso, known loving as a “muffin top”.  A Mommy Makeover often includes a tummy tuck, liposuction or sometimes more specific procedures such as a labiaplasty, depending on a woman’s body and her specific goals for her makeover.

A tummy tuck (“abdominoplasty”) does several incredible things at the same time, all which help reverse the effects of pregnancy and help a mother get her tummy back:

1. A tummy tuck removes excess lower abdominal skin and stretch marks and tightens the abdominal skin
2. It repairs the muscles of the abdominal wall back together in the midline after they are permanently stretched out after pregnancies (known as “rectus diastasis”)
3. A tummy tuck reshapes the tummy and flanks/hips using liposuction to a more proportional, fitter contour

A tummy tuck is the ONLY procedure that can treat all these areas in a single procedure, to achieve the flattest, firmest tummy possible for Moms after they have finished their pregnancies.

Other Moms have stubborn fat deposits that will not go away no matter how hard she tries, how healthy she eats, and how much she exercises.  That’s where Dr. Horton can help!

Liposuction is a quick, outpatient procedure that is often combined with other Mommy Makeover surgeries like a breast augmentation or tummy tuck, to permanently remove fat deposits from these stubborn areas and give a Mom the body she deserves!  Another option to reduce localized fat deposits is CoolSculpting (read more about that procedure in our CoolSculpting blog posts and on the CoolSculpting section of our website).

It is common and SAFE to combine multiple procedures in a single surgery – i.e. breasts with a tummy tuck or liposuction – this is classically how a Mommy Makeover is described.  By doing many procedures under one anesthetic, the results are dramatic and complimentary, there is a single period of downtime and a mother can get back to her life as soon as possible!

To learn more about Mommy Makeovers, schedule a comprehensive consultation with Dr. Horton by calling 415-923-3067 or complete our online consultation request form today!